By Linden Wilkie, 11 September 2020

Marquis Sauvage, an American with a family background in farming and a CV full of success in distributing wine in the United States, seemed to have the nose for finding the right site in Central Otago – an amphitheatre protected from wind, just north of Cromwell, when he purchased it – untested for suitability – in 2002 at auction. But his instincts were confirmed soon after when Ted Lemon was brought in as consultant. Lemon gained his enology degree in Burgundy at the beginning of the 1980s and had been winemaker at Domaine Guy Roulot in Meursault before establishing his own estate – Littorai in California’s Sonoma County in the early ‘90s.

Two things immediately caught my attention about Burn Cottage – firstly that prime site at the southern end of Mount Pisa range. I had heard, and tasted promising things from this little district. Secondly, I had long been a fan of Littorai, and knew that if Ted Lemon was involved, there must be real promise. Lemon and Sauvage didn’t need to convert Burn Cottage to biodynamism, they had that rare chance – with a bare block – to establish the estate from scratch as a fully-fledged self-contained biodynamic eco-system right from the start. Highland cattle provide manure, bees, native plants, bushes and trees as well as olives. Other species provide the equilibrium as well as the raw materials for biodynamic treatments within the estate – very similar to what I had seen on a visit to Littorai some years ago.

Next, on their website I saw that Claire Mulholland was leading the winemaking at Burn Cottage. Claire is one of New Zealand’s great talents, having studied in Burgundy, gained experience in Oregon, Australia, and built an impressive A-list CV with the likes of Rippon, Chard Farm, and Gibbston Valley in Central Otago.

I made an appointment with Sales Manager Andy Crozier in early 2017 and went for a visit. Here I could see that with the very sustainable biodynamic approach combined with very careful soil, and aspect analysis – the estate is divided into small blocks, with a patchwork quilt of rootstocks and Pinot Noir clones planted, so that since their first commercial vintage – 2009 – they have built an empirical set of data, and smell-taste-texture profiles across the estate that will ensure any future decisions are well-grounded in experience.

But it was when I put my nose to the first glass of Pinot Noir at the estate that I knew I wanted The Fine Wine Experience to be Burn Cottage’s importer. These wines show so much more than just the gorgeous upfront fruit quality the region is already famous for. There is real nuance, often a savoury counter-balance to the fruit, fine texture and length to the wines. This is serious Pinot.

The second estate label Pinot Noir – Moonlight Race – has an elegant weight, fruit-forward appeal, but still with good complexity. We import this exclusively for the on-trade in Hong Kong, so if you are a restaurateur or hotelier in Hong Kong, please get in touch with us about this one.

The main estate label – Burn Cottage Pinot Noir – has a fuller, lusher texture, more depth, is age-worthy (the 2016 is now showing some appealing bottle age sous bois character, and the 2009 is still going strong), but is also svelte in texture when young, and is good to go on release usually. You’ll have to accept my bias here, but I really do think this is one of New Zealand’s best Pinot Noirs today.

Finally – Riesling-Grüner Veltliner – a wine that came about due to a too small initial crop leading to a decision to co-ferment. Everyone liked it so much that the estate has not been allowed by fans and sommeliers around the world to stop making it. The varieties blend well, and the impressive added dimension here is texture – some phenolics coming from a bit of skin contact on the Riesling, combined with a judiciously-chosen 10g/l residual sugar providing just the right buffer on the finish. You don’t sense any ‘sweetness’ on the finish, just a well-rounded texture. This is a great gastronomic choice with Cantonese food, and indeed has been picked up by some leading Hong Kong restaurants. Perfect for stay-at-home Cantonese cooking night, with the Pinot Noir to follow with some roast duck.